Sibyl of Doom

  Kwenerra turned her head away and gasped. I turned to see what had startled her. Ahrtzor stood at the door, a broad smile on his face.

  "You're right, Mom. If you want to control those parasites, you need your own arsenal. And make sure you don't ever let them know the full extent of your capabilities. If they don't know what you have, they won't strive to have it too."

  Even though I doubted that he would understand the equations, I quickly closed the file. "How long have you been watching?"

  "Oh, just long enough to overhear that you have some secret information that you're going to keep from the two fat toads and our would-be warlord." He winked. "Don't worry. I won't tell a soul about your and Kwenerra's secret file. Besides, I'm sure you two have it so tightly encoded that not even all of the Imperatora's cryptologists could break into it. Keep it that way." He turned and left the room.

  "How much do you think he overheard?" I asked Kwenerra.

  Kwenerra shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. But I believe him when he says he won't tell anyone. He'd never do anything to hurt either of us."

  I smiled with a mother's pride. "The Goddess blessed me with the two best children I could have asked for. A son whose greatest goal in life is to protect me and a daughter whose knowledge of computer systems already exceeds mine.

  "Kwenerra, if I'm truly to become a meaningful influence on the council, I have to stop trying to keep current on the computer system's repair and update. All I'm accomplishing now is slow you down. I want you to take charge and do what I don't have time to do. You and your staff have to keep the computers running at peak and keep them maintained."

  "I will." Kwenerra smiled broadly for the first time in weeks. "Some of the workers have started calling me and my staff the 'Sibyl's girls.' They think they're teasing us, but I think it has a nice sound to it."

  Kwenerra's expression grew serious. "Mom, you're right about Ahrtzor. My little brother has turned out pretty good. People constantly tell me how proud they were that he stood up and spoke at the meeting. He seems to know everyone and is developing quite a following among both the Archons and the enlisted personnel. Who would have thought someone who I quarreled with my whole life would turn out to be such a natural leader?"

  I agreed. "He can go as far as he wants. I wouldn't be surprised if someday he's on the leadership council. He's much suited for it than I am."

  Kwenerra giggled. "What would the Imperatora think if she knew that the last people she selected for the Gaea had become so influential in its affairs and have accessed her secret knowledge?"

  I wondered too. The Imperatora was clever. Perhaps, she intended for us to be a wild card to counter her people. I'd never know.

  -19-

  Arvor Castel

  Planet Tirano

  I was eating breakfast when my companel sounded. "Urgent call from Countess Nalena."

  I raced to the companel. "Put her through."

  Nalena's face appeared on the screen. In the background I could see passing buildings and realized she was riding in her street vehicle. "Rheghie's outmaneuvered us. He's called an emergency session of the Assembly on the basis that you advised Siniastra to go into hiding in order to avoid his hearings on her fitness to rule. He wants both Siniastra and you removed. I'm on my way there. You'd better get there as fast as you can."

  Before I could say anything she terminated the transmission. I took a deep breath and tried to remain calm. I hadn't anticipated how clever Rheghie could be. If I tried to assert that Sini was missing and the Royal Council had a duty to determine her status, he'd set it up so that I would appear to be doing exactly what he'd accused me of doing. I scurried to the bedroom to get dressed and prayed to Ghaeah that I could think of something to blunt Rheghie's maneuver.

  *

  The Grand Square surrounds the turreted Arvor Castle. An austere gray-stone building, Vhirko Compound, lines one side of the Square. On the opposite side of the Square sits the ostentatious Archonan Assembly with its granite facade and gilded entryways and windows. At ten stories, the Assembly is five stories shorter than Arvor Castel, but the Assembly's golden spires soar to the same height as the Castel's ivory marble turrets.

  I sprinted across the cobbled Square to the Assembly. I reached the main entrance, which to my surprise was nearly deserted. Evidently, Rheghie's hearing hadn't been announced publicly -- another clever idea. That way Rheghie could assert announce the "findings" without the hearings having been subject to public scrutiny.

  I placed my hand on the admission scanner. The Koahman glanced at the results and waved me through. I ran across the black marbled floor of the rotunda to the Assembly amphitheater. The doors were closed. I grimaced. The hearing was either about to start or had already started.

  I didn't want to barge onto the Assembly floor with the hearing in progress, so I veered toward the door that led to the observation gallery. Not surprisingly, the gallery was nearly empty; only a handful of Archonan staff members were present. Because they were talking, I assumed the hearing hadn't started. I took a seat in the gallery's front row. The members of the Assembly were sitting at their desks and facing the rostrum. Nalena must have sensed my presence because she turned and looked up at the balcony. She nodded at me and turned back toward the rostrum.

  Because he was the Assembly Speaker, Rheghie's desk was in the center of the front row. He rose from his chair with a palm-viewer in his hand and waddled to the rostrum. "This plenary session of the Archonan Assembly is hereby called to order."

  He laid his viewer on the rostrum, looked down at it, and pinched his double chin. "As all of you know, the sitting Sovereign, Siniastra Arvor, has refused to approve the budget passed by this Assembly. Her refusal to fund the Archonan Assembly violates Article V of the Founding Compact."

  He looked up and rotated his head to encompass all of the members. "I have tried to avert this impasse by meeting personally with her to negotiate an acceptable compromise. Even though each attempt has been futile, that was not what caused great alarm on my behalf. Her personal behavior in those meetings can best be described as erratic. Her mood swings were frequent and violent. Within a period of a few myria, she switched from being flippant, to trying to physically intimidate me, to unchecked anger. And that was only the first time I met with her.

  "Our meetings only deteriorated thereafter. The next meeting she wouldn't even permit me to speak, and the last time I contacted her she laughed in my face. Each time, she refused to make even the slightest effort discuss the issues."

  I had to admit to myself that his characterization of those meetings had some validity. What he failed to mention was Sini reacted as she did because the proposed budget was too obscene to justify good faith discussions.

  "And now," Rheghie continued, "based upon the advice of the Lord Chancellor, she has gone into hiding. Why would the Lord Chancellor advise her to do so?"

  It took all my self control to keep from shouting that Nhoth was lying. But I knew I'd have to wait before I would be permitted to speak.

  "My friends I wish I could say that he did so merely as a tactic in trying to break our resolve on the budget. But sadly I can not. He did so because he knows first hand what many of us have feared since her father's unfortunate death."

  He paused, took a deep breath as if in sorrow. "Like so many scions of clones, Siniastra has lost the ability to control her emotions. The proper term for her status is clone defect syndrome, which as we all know is untreatable and progresses rapidly following onset."

  The Assembly members began talking to each other on the floor. From my seat I couldn't make out what was being said, but the tone intimated agreement with Rheghie's diagnosis.

  Rheghie held up his hand. "I know I speak for all of us in wishing that this day had never come. We prayed that this malady would never attack Siniastra. But we can not hide our heads in the sand. We must recognize the truth.

>   "I for one will act as my ancestors would have. They never took the easy course when it came to acting in the best interests of Tirano. My grandfather died to save an Arvor, not a defective child of a clone. And my father who has been ostracized saw the consequences of the dangerous liaison between Zhun'Mar and Mirae and died trying to prevent it. They were both patriots and I shall follow in their footsteps and do the difficult thing. Therefore, I resolve that this Assembly vote to declare Siniastra unfit to sit on the Golden Vine Throne."

  Several members jumped out of their seats and applauded. I watched toward Nalena. She remained seated and scribbled on her notepad.

  Rheghie raised his arm and motioned for silence. "Please, please, sit down. Siniastra's condition is no reason for joy. She must be treated with dignity."

  I almost threw up. What a lying hypocrite. First, he fabricates Sini having clone defect syndrome, and then because it would sound good for the record, he spouts false sympathy.

  "Are there any on the floor who wish to speak before the vote is tallied?"

  He looked around smugly, evidently expecting to pass his resolution by acclimation. His head drew back when Nalena stood. "Countess Rohfek, what a pleasant surprise. You haven't attended Assembly meetings since you were appointed to the Royal Council. Do you not have a conflict in interest that prohibits your participation in this vote?"

  Nalena fixed her gaze at Rheghie. "No more than does the one who brings a resolution that would place him in line for the Golden Vine Throne." She looked to her left and then to her right. "Or those who support such a resolution and would benefit financially by its passage."

  By Ghaeah, three spins ago I thought Nalena was a bland Archonan woman. I had never been so wrong.

  "Countess," Rheghie said unctuously, "there is no need to denigrate motives of this Assembly. All here are sworn to act in the best interests of Tirano."

  "Then," Nalena said in a loud, firm tone, "I suggest we begin to so act. You know as well as I do that there is nothing wrong with Siniastra. In fact, you know the truth; that she's been abducted. You concocted this farce for one purpose: to usurp power. You're no patriot, and neither was your father. The only difference between the two of you is that your power grab is even more abhorrent than your father's was. At least he knew that King Mhikhel was dead before he acted."

  I don't think the Assembly has ever been so quiet. All heads turned to Rheghie. I have never seen a face turn so red so fast. He pointed a finger at Nalena. “My family's honor will not be impugned by a Rohfek. Unlike your family, my family has never conspired with foreigners to murder a King.”

  Pandemonium broke out on the Assembly floor. Shouts were followed by chairs being shoved back. Several Assembly members surrounded Nalena and screamed at her. I feared for her safety. I stood and headed for the door so I could get to the floor and help Nalena.

  Before I reached the floor, a voice spoke over the din. "Please, all of you return to your seats. In my 50 loops as a member of this Assembly, I have never seen such boorish behavior. This Assembly is an ancient body that has always prided itself on its decorum."

  I turned toward the rostrum. A gray-haired figure leaning on a cane hunched in front of the rostrum, Count Moheix. The Moheix clan was probably Tirano's most respected family. Since the founding of Tirano, the eldest child of each generation had been the planet's head oenologist, and the family tended Tirano's finest vineyards. Even though they were content being vintners with no political ambitions, few wanted to run the risk that they could use their considerable influence against them.

  When the members saw who had spoken, they slowly headed to their seats. "My fellow Assembly members," he said, "I agree that we face a very serious situation. Count Nhoth asserts that Queen Siniastra has a degenerative mental disease from which there can be no recovery while Countess Rohfek asserts the Queen has been abducted. Both are serious allegations. We will not, however, ascertain which is correct by shouting at each other."

  He looked up at me. "I see that the Lord Chancellor is in attendance. He seems to be at the center of this mystery. I respectfully request that he come down and testify before us and answer any questions we may ask."

  I had no choice but to agree.

  -17-

  Archonan Assembly

  Planet Tirano

  I entered the Assembly floor with trepidation. Among my short list of things to avoid at all costs: testifying before the Assembly. Tradition dictated that who ever testified in front of the full Assembly did so standing at the rostrum while being peppered by simultaneous questions from several members. The raucous atmosphere served more to intimidate than to learn the truth.

  I stood behind the rostrum, lowered the amplifier to my level. I took a deep breath before uttering the words that would subject me to the torture of Assembly testimony. "I, Kuinsi Burrows, Lord Chancellor of Tirano, am prepared to answer to the best of my ability your questions."

  I think every Assembly member jumped out of his or her seat and shouted a question. In the din, I couldn't make out a single coherent phrase so I scanned the faces until I found Count Moheix. His request had put me in this positions and I figured he more than any of the others would ask a fair question. I pointed at Moheix and shouted, "Your question, sir."

  I couldn't have shouted loud enough to be heard, but the din lessened as people saw to whom I'd pointed. Moheix leaned on his cane until it became quiet enough for him to speak. He looked around the Assembly floor. "Thank you," he said.

  He turned his gaze to me. "Lord Chancellor and fellow Assembly members, before I ask my question, please indulge an old man's desire to bear his soul."

  I nodded.

  "In my entire life, I have never seen such a distressing state of affairs. Either our Queen is mentally unfit to rule or she has been abducted. If the former, this Assembly must do what it has never done before and remove the Sovereign. If the latter, it means our enemies can penetrate our security with impunity. I do not know which is worse for our future."

  He leaned forward on his cane. "What I do know is that only one person in this chamber knows the truth. What I don't know is whether he will tell the truth.

  "Why? Because of what a tradition-bound Archonan like me never dreamt possible. A Queen who is the daughter of a KaNoa clone and a Lord Chancellor who is not only the son of a High Sibyl but also a man from another galaxy who has never set foot on Tirano. To confound me further, neither the Queen nor the Lord Chancellor has passed the third deka of their lives. I, like many of my compatriots, do not know what to make of all of these changes to almost two millennia of stability."

  A murmur of agreement spread through the Assembly floor.

  "Accordingly, I have two questions for you, Lord Chancellor." He leaned so far forward on his cane that I thought he would fall. "First, what is the status of Queen Siniastra? Second, is your answer to the first question the truth?"

  The only sound I could hear in the chamber was my breathing. I pressed my finger to my lips and stared straight ahead as I tried to decide how to answer without lying. I needed to reveal that Sini had been abducted, but I didn't want to reveal hyperspace

  "It does not require such thought to tell the truth. I'm afraid I have the answer to my second question," he said softly. "So I do not need to hear your answer to the first."

  Approval roared from the members. I dropped my hand. I'd taken the bait and fallen into the cagey old rhenard's trap. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

  "Please escort the Lord Chancellor from the rostrum," Moheix said coldly.

  The lower doors to the Chamber burst open. A squad of black clad Vhirko stormed in. The front row of the squad marched forward while the back row blocked the door. My mouth fell open. Sini stood between the squads and appeared like a statue in her ceremonial Golden Vines gown.

  My eyes bulged as she strode to the rostrum. Where had she been and how had she escaped?
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  She motioned for me to step aside. She looked down at Rheghie. The steeliness in her blue eyes reminded me of her mother.

  "Count Rheginahld Nhoth, if you wish to hold a hearing concerning my physical and mental capacities, why would you not ask me to appear? I can think of only one reason. You do not wish to ascertain the truth.

  "In the future, if you wish to challenge my mental capacity, please feel free to ask me to appear at this rostrum. I would enjoy a duel of wits with you. And if you wish to ascertain my physical capacity, please join me in the palestra for a laser-knife bout. I promise to use a dummy knife. You may use a live knife if you wish."

  Rheghie's jowls shook. I noticed that Keefohr and several others glared in Rheghie's direction. Nalena had a broad smile on her face.

  Sini turned to Moheix. "Count Moheix, I have been following this hearing on the vids Countess Rohfek has been kind enough to stream to the Castel. I appreciate your concern about my personal well-being and the security of Tirano. I assure you that I was neither abducted nor that I suffer any physical or mental incapacity. I hope you will use your good graces with your Assembly colleagues to convince them to end this hearing and to proceed with the task that I have implored this Assembly to complete. A budget that I can approve."

  She grabbed my arm, and with me at her side, regally walked out the chamber. A myriad of questions bounced in my mind, but I keep silent. As the chamber doors closed, the shouting began.

  -18-

  Siniastra's Quarters

  Arvor Castel

  Planet Tirano

  **Even though it took all my self-control, I didn't speak until Sini and I were alone in her quarters and the Vhirko dismissed. "I'd really botched it in there. Believe me, I was never so happy to see anyone in my life when you stormed in. You were magnificent," I gave her a hug. "But by the Belts, what happened? Who abducted you and how'd you escape?"

  Sini's lip quivered. "Oh, Kuinsi, I wasn't abducted. I ran away and hid."

  I stepped back. "You what?"